Game recognises game: Carlos Alcaraz takes to social media to congratulate Jannik Sinner for historic Sunshine double

It is no secret that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are on very good terms. Regularly spotted together away from the court in a friendly manner, the pair are different from prior rivalries with the bitterness and hate not there. This has been proved once more with Alcaraz congratulating his arch-rival after witnessing him complete the Sunshine double from a distance.

After a sluggish start to the year by his standards, Sinner was playing a catch-up game. Alcaraz had already won the Australian Open and Qatar Open, events the Italian was unable to make past the semi-final and quarterfinal respectively. Coming onto the first two Masters 1000 tournaments of the year at Indian Wells and the Miami Open, Sinner was a man on a mission.

A huge points swing was on the cards with Sinner having been suspended this time last year, having to watch Alcaraz strut his stuff in North America and at the start of the European clay swing. He was defending nothing and was eyeing up a huge 2000 points to be added to his ranking.

This would close the gap to Alcaraz in the number one position expediently. This is exactly what occurred, shrugging off any concern and criticism he may have received from the start of the year to blast his way to both titles in an ominous sign, not even dropping a set in the process.

Many of the greats have watched on in awe of the 24-year-old, and the same can be said for Alcaraz. He exited at the semi-final stage at Indian Wells before losing out in the third round in Florida. On Instagram, Alcaraz shared his praises with Sinner and his team for a job well done, as he plots his revenge in the tournaments coming up. "Congrats Jannik Sinner and team for winning the Sunshine double!" he wrote.

Alcaraz had a huge chance to gain some points in the Sunshine swing. He matched his performance in California last year before only getting one round further in Miami. He may come to regret this missed opportunity as the ever-dangerous Sinner is starting to close the gap.

His lead remains over 1000 points which is very key when it comes to the next tournament: the Monte-Carlo Masters. Alcaraz won the event last year after coming from a set down to rout Lorenzo Musetti. 1000 points is set to come off which means Sinner will be right on his heels, barring a disaster.

Alcaraz also has to defend the points he collected from the Barcelona Open where he made the final, losing out to Holger Rune. The 500 event was a warm-up in his home country before the Madrid Open, but he was forced to pull out due to an ankle injury. This is the first competition that both players will be defending nothing.

Sinner made his return at the Rome Open, reaching the final. He would lose out to Alcaraz as their rivalry really started to blossom on court. What followed was one of the greatest tennis matches ever played at Roland Garros. Sinner failed to take three match points and Alcaraz completed a phenomenal comeback. From a ranking perspective, this means the seven-time Grand Slam champion is still defending more points than Sinner in the final two tournaments on clay. If Sinner is going to get his number one spot back, now is the time. All he needs to do is make it deep in the upcoming Masters 1000 tournaments and Roland Garros while capitalising on the possible mistakes Alcaraz may make.

Monte-Carlo Masters is the first to be played, taking place from April 5-12, as the clay swing can officially get underway in style.